Politics

[Tbitty]

So far you've only engaged with me about your meme posts. I don't recall any replies to my posts about the deficit, irresponsible republican spending, Renewable energy, Coal, Environmental concerns, or the 6 dead service members due to inadequate protection.

I engaged with someone, I thought it was you but may have been someone else, about the deficit and spending (D and R both spend irresponsibly, you cant possibly belive that's a R only issue) a couple weeks ago. I have no need to revisit that topic. My apologies if I had the wrong person in mind, and I'll retract my statement that we've been down this road before.

As for your other topics:

Without getting into details, I think renewable energy is a great idea and ultimately will be necessary for our world to continue, but the current practices are a joke. They waste far more fossil fuels than they save while also being ridiculously horrible to the environment. ... I will assume we similarly disagree on coal and environmental issues, but those aren't topics I am versed in so I have not made any statements one way or the other.

Your concern about the 6 dead service members is valid. It is tragic, just as it was when Biden botched the Afghanistan withdrawal and the 13 dead as a result. It is critical to note that one does not justify the other. There was outrage on the Right when the deaths occurred under Biden. There was outrage on the Left when the deaths occurred under Trump. There should be equal sadness from both sides no matter who is President. I do not recall either side supporting deaths, just the top officials trying to spin the narrative on how it wasn't their fault.

 

[Brent in Az]

The Biden administration did not spend $4 trillion dollars on green infrastructure. If this is the source you are referring to: https://www.cato.org/policy-analysis/budgetary-cost-inflation-reduction-acts-energy-subsidies

1. Then you'll see that $4 trillion is the upper 2050 bound estimate, and that the lower estimate is $2 trillion, and also the current year is 2026, not 2050, so that spending has not actually occurred yet.
2. This analysis was done before Trump's OBBB was passed in the summer of 2025, which cancelled the rest of the IRA spending, which would significantly reduce those estimates now.
3. This analysis was also done by the right-wing CATO Institute, and they are not an impartial source.

"Shutting down one or two Learning Centers and a fake Hospice or two in LA will pay for the entire Iran war."......Since we're spending close to $1 billion/day for the Iran War, I still don't see how the math works out on this one.

"By any means necessary"...I don't recall every prominent politician saying that we should stop Iran by "any means necessary."

Our country has yoked itself to oil for far too long.

Look on the bright side. Sometime in the distant future the earths spigots will be tapped out of oil.
All of you lefties can happily be yoked to Ox carts , wood fires, and revert back to medieval ways of living.

 

[Big_Easy]

Look on the bright side. Sometime in the distant future the earths spigots will be tapped out of oil.
All of you lefties can happily be yoked to Ox carts , wood fires, and revert back to medieval ways of living.

I don't think my current Tesla qualifies as an Ox cart. Nor do the solar panels on my roof qualify as medieval living. Quite the opposite, I rather love my homes AC units. Nor the Tesla PowerWall in my garage. Or the heat-pump hot water heater in my basement. But I do enjoy a nice campfire. Who doesnt?

 

[Brent in Az]

I don't think my current Tesla qualifies as an Ox cart. Nor do the solar panels on my roof qualify as medieval living. Quite the opposite, I rather love my homes AC units. Nor the Tesla PowerWall in my garage. Or the heat-pump hot water heater in my basement. But I do enjoy a nice campfire. Who doesnt?

When the oil runs out, so will those creature comforts.

 

[Aaron N]

So here’s my take on green energy, not that anyone cares. For starters, no energy source is perfect. Hydro, solar, wind, nuclear, coal, and hydrocarbon based all have their own viable uses, and they also have their own set of unique drawbacks. “Windmills are ugly!” Well so are refineries. “What about the birds!” Well what about the natural migration of fish that are now blocked from dams?

What I DONT agree with is mandates for green energy or electric cars. These products should be competitive enough on their own merits where they naturally replace their peers in a free market system.

Is green energy bad or evil? Of course not. Are EV’s the devil? No, I’d argue that for 90% of households (especially two car households) and EV seems like a smart choice. I don’t know about you guys, but I hate gas stations. We bought my wife a F150 two years ago, and if it didn’t involve major upgrades to a 30yo electrical system, I would have seriously looked at a lightning. Who wouldn’t want the option of both a truck bed, AND a trunk in one vehicle.

I would argue that renewables (solar, hydro, and wind, fuck wood I’ll never get behind that one) are still in their infancy, or just leaving it beginning o mature. This means that there are still leaps and bounds to be made in manufacturing, recycling, and battery storage (this will have the biggest impact). These energy sources aren’t going to solve all of the worlds problems, but if they are used as intended they are a net positive. All energy sources have blood on their hands, that’s the nature of the beast, no single means of producing energy can be placed on a pedestal while the rest are vilified.

And yes, I type exactly as thoughts come into my head, and I’m not nearly as eloquent as some of our other esteemed members.

FWIW, I’m looking out my office window as I type this looking down into an Oilsands mine pit.

 

[LivingTheDream]

Like when Republicans spent 10s of millions of dollars on the Benghazi investigations? Will they spend the same amount of time and money investigating the Port of Shuaiba attach on March 1st that killed 6 US service members because they were put in an inadequately fortified triple-wide trailer without the ability to properly counter a drone attack?

Thats a pretty ridiculous stretch of a comparison.

Did Port of Shuaiba attack, did they blame a YouTube video?

 

[Doug Hamilton]

LOL, we already do.....they're called Tariffs buddy, and everyone gets to pay them.

You could say the same about sales tax, but those mean nothing compared to.what those of us that pay income taxes have to pay. It's also those that aren't paying income taxes that collect a lot from "entitlement programs." They also.cost the most in public services such as law enforcement and fire fighting Funny how that works out. Those that pay the.least collect the most. Do you think those that pay the most shouldn't resent it? Grow up.

By the way, "LOL" ? How old are you? You might want to keep quiet and let the grown-ups talk.

 

[fourfive8]

I can’t shake the image of Big Easy’s fossil fuel free lifestyle and condition… as he preaches and would love as a government mandate for all. He dreams for all of us to visualize him living the following: Windmill in back yard, roof covered with solar panels and a garage full of batteries- all paid for by Mr Easy himself. There’d be an old Hugo in the driveway. Under the Hugo hood one would find a large rechargeable battery bank connected to a big electric motor. Lubrication for the transmission and drive train would be used cooking oil. I have no idea what the tires would he made of— maybe a wire mesh design, reminiscent of those used on the lunar rover??

 

[Aaron N]

I can’t shake the image of Big Easy’s fossil fuel free lifestyle and condition… as he preaches and would love as a government mandate for all. He dreams for all of us to visualize him living the following: Windmill in back yard, roof covered with solar panels and a garage full of batteries- all paid for by Mr Easy himself. There’d be an old Hugo in the driveway. Under the Hugo hood one would find a large rechargeable battery bank connected to a big electric motor. Lubrication for the transmission and drive train would be used cooking oil. I have no idea what the tires would he made of— maybe a wire mesh design, reminiscent of those used on the lunar rover??

You realize that you can have solar panels on your house to offset your electrical bill, and still drive an ICE, right? It’s like eating a salad before your steak supper.

 

[spike.t]

Alas, I wish that it did. Instead, you see replies, with the heading "you are ignoring posts by this member", so you don't see what the reply is all about. It's an imperfect system.

Then again, I learned a long time ago that it's an imperfect world. Screws fall from ceiling ducts all the time...

I think it works fine....you can tell by the replies they're still repeating the same shite , but don't have to give a monkeys about it

 

[Killingtime]

The major benefit I see to renewable energy as an addition is if you want to live off grid were land is very cheap. You could run solar which for along time the government was subsidizing and made it very affordable and Starlink now gives you the ability to work online or have contact with your company pretty much anywhere in the world. As long as you can get material and labor in to build a house you can live anywhere now.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

I don't think my current Tesla qualifies as an Ox cart. Nor do the solar panels on my roof qualify as medieval living. Quite the opposite, I rather love my homes AC units. Nor the Tesla PowerWall in my garage. Or the heat-pump hot water heater in my basement. But I do enjoy a nice campfire. Who doesnt?

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

 

[fourfive8]

No problem living off the grid using whatever for power generation and DIY ingenuity. But there is a caveat. When you starve out or “cabin fever” out or freeze out or get burned out, please clean up your mess and use as much time and energy to remove and responsibly dispose of all the refuse and broken down crap you used to get it there in the first place. While it goes on everywhere, Alaska is a perfect example beginning in the 60s-70s. Alaska’s size and thick boreal forests hide a huge number and quantity of abandoned, wannabe sourdough, off the grid, end-of-roader “homesteads”. All eventually reducing area property values and/or consuming government funds for cleanup and disposal.

 

[CoElkHunter]

You realize that you can have solar panels on your house to offset your electrical bill, and still drive an ICE, right? It’s like eating a salad before your steak supper.

Just remember, when you need your roof replaced the roofing company will charge up the arse to take off the existing solar panels and reinstall them after they replace the roof and your insurance company may not cover that cost. The neighbor next door found that out and had to pay $5K out of pocket. I’ve had two roofs replaced in the last eight years due to hail damage and I don’t have solar. Just FYI.

 

[CoElkHunter]

Two tankers shot at in Hormuz by the iranians.. Situation remain unclear..

Send in the Viking ships with this caricature carved into the wooden bow. The Iranians will lay down their arms at the sight of her. LOL

 

[Killingtime]

No problem living off the grid using whatever for power generation and DIY ingenuity. But there is a caveat. When you starve out or “cabin fever” out or freeze out or get burned out, please clean up your mess and use as much time and energy to remove and responsibly dispose of all the refuse and broken down crap you used to get it there in the first place. While it goes on everywhere, Alaska is a perfect example beginning in the 60s-70s. Alaska’s size and thick boreal forests hide a huge number and quantity of abandoned, wannabe sourdough, off the grid, end-of-roader “homesteads”. All eventually reducing area property values and/or consuming government funds for cleanup and

I was talking more about land that would have been impossible or insanely expensive to get a land line to becoming available. For instance there’s land to both the north and west of me that has multi hundred acre properties 5 miles plus from the nearest grid power line. Guys have always owned them for hunting purposes because while only a 45min- 1 hr drive or so from a major city you couldn’t have power outside of generators. And no internet. Now you can build a nice ranch home big barn and have all the power you need and internet. Instead of 5-10k an acre you start getting down to 2-3k an acre some even cheaper but then your getting more swamp. We definitely are not remote like yall in Alaska but there’s still land that really gives you space with the right amount of proximity to a hospital and entertainment that otherwise was not possible before modern tech.

 

[Killingtime]

Just remember, when you need your roof replaced the roofing company will charge up the arse to take off the existing solar panels and reinstall them after they replace the roof and your insurance company may not cover that cost. The neighbor next door found that out and had to pay $5K out of pocket. I’ve had two roofs replaced in the last eight years due to hail damage and I don’t have solar. Just FYI.

Yea I’d never have solar unless I could carve out a space separate from the house and have it on the ground. Solar makes little financial sense for most people. But like I mentioned earlier if you want to live on a bunch of land further from a grid that option becomes appealing. I guess if you live in an area with crazy high electric cost it makes more sense as well.

 

[cwpayton]

Just remember, when you need your roof replaced the roofing company will charge up the arse to take off the existing solar panels and reinstall them after they replace the roof and your insurance company may not cover that cost. The neighbor next door found that out and had to pay $5K out of pocket. I’ve had two roofs replaced in the last eight years due to hail damage and I don’t have solar. Just FYI.

Did you go metal the last time? I had wind damage on 4,5 singles 3 years in a row and decided to go all metal, did it all myself except for the last 1/5 around chimney my son helped. I have all my solar panels located 35 feet away on a shed and metal stand.

 

[CoElkHunter]

Did you go metal the last time? I had wind damage on 4,5 singles 3 years in a row and decided to go all metal, did it all myself except for the last 1/5 around chimney my son helped. I have all my solar panels located 35 feet away on a shed and metal stand.

No, I stayed with asphalt shingles. Not sure how other types of shingles fit in with my homeowners insurance?